Abhinav Bindra, Pullela Gopichand in task force for Olympic Games

Olympic gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand are named in the task force constituted to make an action plan for the next three Olympics including Tokyo 2020. Sports Authority of Gujarat director-general Sandeep Pradhan is the convenor while Viren Rasquinha and Baldev Singh are the other sportspersons in the panel.

Abhinav Bindra, the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist, is part of the eight-member task force set up by the government to task chart out a plan to enhance India’s medals tally in future Games.(Prateek Choudhury/Hindustan Times)

Olympic Games gold-medallist Abhinav Bindra and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand will be part of the eight-member task force constituted to prepare an action plan for the next three quadrennial games, including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Sports minister Vijay Goel said the task force will have to submit its report to the ministry within three months. “Making recommendations for scouting potential medal winners for 2020 Olympics will be one of the short-term plans of the task force, while chalking out a comprehensive talent identification programme for 2024 and 2028 Olympics has been listed as a long-term goal,” said the minister.

The task force has to make key recommendations on spotting a core group of probables and coaching staff for 2020 Games. Improving infrastructure, coaching and scientific training methods are other key areas where the government has to be updated.

Former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha and Dronacharya awardee in hockey, Baldev Singh of Haryana, are also members of the task force. Rajesh Kalra (journalist), Om Pathak (sports promoter) and GL Khanna (professor applied science) are the other members.